Auckland Firm Gets First Technology Grant

Auckland Firm Gets First Technology Grant Under New Funding
Guidelines

AUCKLAND, October 13, 2000: An Auckland company
specialising in sophisticated customer relationship
solutions for the retail sector has been awarded one of the
first technology grants under the government’s new funding
guidelines.

Visible Results Limited, a subsidiary of The
Atlantis Group, has been granted $360,000 by Technology New
Zealand for next stage development of its dynamic loyalty
system project. Visible Results markets and supports a
customer loyalty system using a thermal read/write card
technology – the only card currently available to update and
display loyalty information to customers instore.

The
funding is to develop enhanced solutions that will enable
the technology to be used more widely and to greater effect.
The enhancements include the ability to support Asian
characters, along with significant configurability and
scalability. Once completed, the new system will allow
global deployment of loyalty programmes, enabling marketers
to change these on the fly, specific people to be targeted
with appropriate offers, and the maintenance of the loyalty
programme centrally from one location.

The Atlantis Group
Managing Director Michael Whittaker said the grant was
tangible evidence that the government was serious about
providing active support to technology development.

“The development of technology with a commercial face
has never been easy or without risk. The government’s
initiative recognises the benefits of supporting technology
initiatives that will capitalise on the entrepreneurial
spirit, commercial expertise and sheer doggedness of New
Zealanders,” Mr Whittaker said.

“The biggest risk the
government faces in funding technology is the possibility
that new products are created which, for commercial reasons,
are never brought to market. In the case of Visible Results,
we had a proven demand for the service and could show a
track record of satisfying customers in four countries with
this type of product. That allowed us to apply for funding
confident that it would be put to good use.”

Visible
Results’ existing graphicard tm technology attracted
considerable attention when it was chosen to power the Mobil
MAX programme in New Zealand in March 1999. The technology
and supporting loyalty programme won gold medals in the 1999
and 2000 Direct Marketing Association Awards, and gold
awards for the Best Loyalty Programme in this year’s
Australasian Promotional Marketing Awards.

The Visible
Results technology is also used to support loyalty
programmes for Caltex in Singapore and Dymocks in
Australia.

The Technology for Business Growth TBG Scheme
has been refocused towards projects that have the potential
to enhance technical capability and enable firms to move
towards high value, high margin technology-based products,
processes or services, and / or markets. Preference will be
given to projects that have the potential to create an
enduring increase in technical capability within the firm.

Editors’ Notes:

About Visible
ResultsEstablished in New Zealand in 1997, Visible
Results launched with its first client 2 years ago. Today,
the company has subsidiaries in Singapore, Australia, and
Japan. Employing in excess of 40 specialist staff, it has
quickly become one of Asia Pacific’s leading customer
relationship companies serving an ever growing client base
across convenience, fast food, fuels and the general retail
industry.Visible Results multimillion dollar investment
into a future proof “customer relationship management”
platform enables retailers the opportunity to access
advanced transaction processing, customer analysis and
e-commerce related facilities that have previously only been
available as a result of expensive custom designed business
solutions.The future of Visible Results lies not only in
its ongoing commitment to investment in technology, and
adoption of sound best practice principals, but most
importantly in the consistent delivery of accountable and
successful programmes to clients.

About Business
Growth ProgrammeFunding for the Visible Results
programme came from Technology New Zealand’s Technology for
Business Growth Programme (TBG). The Programme aims to:

 increase the level and quality of research and
development in industry;  encourage business
growth and improved international competitiveness through
technological development within businesses; 
catalyse and support improvements in the management of
technological innovation.

TBG provides partial funding,
of up to 50% of the cost of R&D and technology transfer
projects.Any business or group of businesses operating
in New Zealand is eligible to apply for funding. As the
business is usually stretching beyond its existing technical
capacity, a technology partner will often be needed. These
technology partners may be Crown Research Institutes,
universities, polytechnics or private companies located in
New Zealand or overseas.

The Technology New Zealand
Scheme, part of the Foundation for Research Science and
Technology (FRST), is designed to help businesses develop
and adopt new technology.

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